LINK ODD ENTRY TO SURROUNDINGS

Knight Ridder NewspapersCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Q. Husband, wife, son and daughter live in a one-story, 1,100-square-foot house with two small bedrooms and one bathroom built around 1950. To gain space, husband (a contractor) is building a second story.

Architect blew it on the design of the stairs. As a result, 4 feet was lopped off what is to be the new living room, and the new entry is now too large in proportion to the rest of the house.

How do I decorate the new entry so it flows well and is inviting, without being too stuffy and overly elegant for the rest of the house?

The wall color is off-white, as is the rest of the house, but we're open to suggestion.

There are two windows with multipane grids, 34 by 46 inches, at the foot of the stairs. All other natural light comes from windows in other rooms.

A built-in bookshelf is painted the same color as the walls. At some point, it will be removed when the kitchen is remodeled.

Although the bookshelf and staircase make it an irregular room, when you come in the front door it has the feel of a room about 9 by 12 feet with an 8-foot ceiling.

We haven't had an entire room for an entry before, so we have no furniture for it.

A. It is always disappointing to discover an architectural defect while remodeling, but we can make your entry fabulous, answers Suzanne Warrick of Interiors in Lafayette, Calif. Perhaps after you remodel your kitchen, you might discover that it becomes a blessing in disguise.

To begin, we need to find a focal point in your entry. The long wall that backs the kitchen can be used as the focal point. You can do a variety of things to accent this wall.

You can accent paint it with whatever color you currently use in your home, such as rust, navy, eggplant, etc.

As another option, you can add raised and frame paneling to add more architectural detail, or add wainscoting below and artwork above.

Lastly, you can add narrow bookcases, use a console table with large candlesticks and framed photos, or just add art.

Against the stairway, you can place a pair of chairs with a circular end table and add a lamp.

You can place an area rug in the immediate space once you enter. A circular rug would be an interesting shape to broaden the space.

In front of the windows at the entry, try a pedestal with a flowering plant such as an orchid, which is beautiful and artistic.

A florist can tie some curly willow or kiwi branches to the stem to extend the height and make a larger statement.

This will not block the view, but draw your attention to it.

Since you mentioned that you would be remodeling the kitchen some day, I suggest a kitchen design that opens up the space. Since you have an active young family, circulation is a requirement. A young child can do many laps around the island.

It is also known that the kitchen will prove to be the hub of the household. The larger we can make this room, the better.

Elevate the stool area to 42 inches above the finished floor. This will give a moderate disguise to the 36 inches above the finished floor height of a standard countertop.

Perhaps you will need support columns visible to hold up your second story. This is no problem.

You can incorporate them into your design scheme very easily. They can either be full-length columns from ceiling to floor, or you could have them visible only from the top of the countertop to the ceiling.

I am currently doing the latter with a client and they are having a custom pot rack made out of wrought iron from which to hang their copper pans, garlic, dried flowers, etc.

In making decisions for your entry, don't forget to consider how your kitchen remodel interacts with it.